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The Gauston Rebellion
Overall status - Unfinished. Age Rating 13+ How it began - Finished. There are many tales of heroes and many tales of tyrants. Many wish to be one or the other, but do not succeed. This is the tale of Richie Gauston, who defeated the Old Government lead by Jollen Peotorus,' '''a coward that was easily comparable to a rodent. King Peotorus's method of maintaining his life of luxury was to bribe the officials and villagers. Of course, he did not care about a loss of money from his personal treasury as he would extort those he'd bribed to an inane degree. This left little to no rings for peasants looking to provide for their families, the economy in decline and raised criminal activity. If anyone questioned his methods, he would execute them himself. The people weren't' 'happy'. There was but one person who successfully stood up to the king, Richie Gauston. Richie came from a fishing family that were a part of House Secton. He was brought up to believe in all of the 'True' Gods, but was fairly irreligious later in life. During his childhood he studied the family trade with Odgar (his father). It was not in Richie's nature to gut any of the fish (he had always had a strong sense of justice), but his cunning meant that he was excellent at catching them. Odgar understood that Richie was one of wisdom and not of a physical nature, so he asked his friend and priest ('''Brother Gustav) if he could teach his son to read and write. Gustav was a kind man, teaching Richie all he could when he had the time. Richie admired Brother Gustav and he was part of the reason Richie started the revolt. It is said that Richie considered becoming a priest at around the age of 19, but his plans changed rapidly when Brother Gustav did not accept one of Peotorus's bribes. Jollen was quick to behead the elderly teacher, and this was the last straw. Something had to be done, and Richie was the one to do it. He marched into town and climbed upon a barrel, then stood on it yelling at the top of his voice. The First Speech "Brethrin! Heed my words! A withered old bitch lays among her pups, but she does not let them suckle from her teat. If we do not strike now we, the pups, will starve! King Peotorus thinks us petty fools that will follow his regime. He is wrong, and we will be the ones to show him! What has he done for us? Take our money? Take our food? Take our homes, our families and our friends?! We are not living in a world with him, we are living in a world under him! And though my lungs may be sore, and though I am no soldier, I will '''NOT '''rest. I will not stop fighting or shouting until he is dethroned and punished for his villainy! Join me in my quest for a new kingdom, a true kingdom! One for the people and the land, not for the person and the castle! My name is Richie Gauston, and I am proud to serve Sorland!" 'The Sorland Seven' - Finished. The speech was simplistic, but it inspired a handful of people to join the cause. They were Aerdin (a merchant of House Omelenor), Bogen (a fisherman), Geldin (a soldier of House Peotorus), Owain (younger brother of Bogen, a farmer), Thassus (a local smith and bare knuckle fighter), Uldas (a man that frequented taverns and an ex-general of House Deanor) and Yorick (an elderly man that was Jollen's childhood jester). They were called 'The Sorland Seven', even though they were technically the 'Sorland Eight'. Each had their reasons for joining the cause. Aerdin Omelenor - Aerdin was wealthy, but alike most merchants he never believed he had enough rings. He was all about more, and viewed the cause as a wise investment; a means for more money so he could buy more pointless outfits and more distasteful decor. More, more, more. He wasn't exactly the kind of person Richie wanted to attract, but the money could be used to buy resources to fund their exploits. He was in his early forties around the time of the rebellion (he was considered fairly old). ."His hair was brushed back so you could see his face as he commmited daylight robbery; its hazel colouring slowly being overthrown by silverly grey streaks. He was arrogant and greedy, through and through. I could see it clearly... who couldn't?" ''- An excerpt from the Book of Richie '''Geldin 'the Gerner' Petaras Peotorus - '''One of the view people to have a middle name,' Geldin Petaras (commonly referred to as 'Gern' or 'The Gerner' by his friends because of the expression he has when fighting) was an unhappy soldier in Jollen's army. He was young, slender, witty and had no trouble socialising with his fellow guards (unlike some of the sterner folk hanging about the city). He did however have problems with Captain Jaldane', loyal servant of the king. All guards were paid little and were shunned by townsfolk for serving Jollen; all except Jaldane, that is. He was given extra rings as he would often be the one to present the villagers with the King's big question ''"'do you want to pay or do you want to lose your tongue?"'' Petaras joined Richie's 'project' to make sure the law would be treated with respect instead of discourtesy, and that the families (mainly the sons) of fallen soldiers would be given the equivilent of 3 years wages. Gern's job was essentially to make sure that Richie wasn't seen as a threat, to sabotage and to gather information. Since his death, the greatest of cloak and dagger types can be given the title 'Petaran of (House Name)'. '''Bogen and Owain Peotorus - There's a very simple reason for their involvement: They were bored out of their minds. They had very tedious and simple lives, and they wanted a chance to have some excitement to separate them from their daily routine. When the chance arose, they took it... plus, there was always the possibility that they'd become legendary heroes. "We do not have mere fighters or soldiers. There are many of you here that are farmers, fishermen, miners, traders... and you all fight for Sorland! All of you are mightier than the strongest man that battles for coin! And if I should die in battle, I know it is so that someone else here can follow Elgar's behest and our charge." - Part of Richie Gauston's speech at a rally in year 104. 'Thassus Astoneer - '''A bulky bear of a man, Thassus had a charisma skill higher than his gargantuan stature. Well, it may not necessarily have been charisma but more the puissance of his punch or the wisdom of his words. Y'see Thassus was a smith and a prize fighter, and he was brilliant at both his craft and his hobby. He made quite a bit of money from making wares for the king and his army, until the day of his fight against 'Peach' (a sort of champion of street fights). Thassus was Jollen's favourite fighter, hence why he bought most of his arms and armour from him. On the other hand, Jollen's lust for gold and glory outweighed his adoration of one man. This was one of those typical stories where one man asks the fighter to 'throw' the fight and lose intentionally. Unfortunately, Jollen bet on Peach and had someone sent to ask the smith of House Astoneer to take a dive. The servant never reached him, though... he was mugged and stabbed on the way to deliver the message, When Thassus beat Peach, Jollen was annoyed at the loss of so many rings. He cut off all shipments and ordered the guards to make sure Thassus never had street brawls again. During the rebellion he served as an advisor and friend to Richie, but he was also a competant soldier and he crafted most of their rebels' gear. '''Sergeant Amos Uldas Deanor '- He was a master of war from House Deanor, winning many battles and gaining over 10 titles during his time as a General under the banner of Deanor. He was courageous and merciless to anyone he did not consider needed; however one day when raiding House Torqaen for Deanor during the 8 year war, he unintentionally killed a child. Morality was not always common in Sorland, but that one death hit him hard. He started to wallow in his misery, drinking to lessen sorrow but only increasing it. He was known to wander the land searching for any place he could swallow swill and get piss drunk. He was thought to be in his early fifties when Richie made his first speech. He was balding, grey-haired, homeless. Hardly the grand general he once was. Richie wrongly called him 'Sergeant' when they first met as he still wore his Deanor Officer's ring. The title stuck when he became one of the commanders of the rebel army. Nobody can say for sure why he joined the cause, but most sources refer to him as wanting to redeem himself so he could die an honourable man. He viewed himself as the personification of acerbity and inane behaviour. "I can remember him talking about it in that grizzled tone 'I don't know why I keep this "sign of honour"' he'd say.'I don't know whether I'm just holding on to a piece of the past, showing myself that I was somebody ... or if it's to remember what I did, and that I don't deserve it.'" - Richie reminiscing about Uldas speaking of his officer's ring after his death 'Yorick the Jester '- Yorick for the rebels didn't do much except keep morale up. He had been thrown out of the castle for making a profoundly rude joke infront of an ambassador from House Lassos. Yorick also wrote songs about their various expeditions and exploits, plus a few recordings of the events of the rebellion. The assault of Bogdan's caravan - Basic draft, unfinished. Bogdan was a vassal of the king. He mainly collected taxes and dictated the land he owned with an iron fist. The small group of revolutionaries targeted his caravan when he was heading back to King's Keep. It was reported in Yorick's journal that Richie's plan was to make it look like a bandit attack without any casualties, and that Petaras would be part of the party guarding the carriage as it travelled through the Medryl woods. There were to be no casaulties as the guards were humble people, friends of Petaras and possible candidates for the rebel army. Sticking to the contents of the journal, the assault is thought to have gone along these lines. They gathered in the greenery on either side of the dirt path, the trees and shrubs provided cover as the laid in wait.The carriage drew closer. Closer. Closer. The 'caravan' itself was second only to the king's carriage. It was a bulky thing with leather walls and finely crafted wood. It was close enough. Bogen and Owain sprung up and threw rocks at the guards, then ran off deeper into the woods.Petaras yelled out that they were bandits, and the guards were set on high alert (most of them stupidly leaving the area around the caravan to search the woods). It was then that Uldas proceeded to knock out the sentinels watching over Bogdan; at which point Richie, Thassus and Uldas advanced to Bogdan and the gold whilst Yorick played look out. "Gahhh! Leave me alone and take the money, you wretches!" Squeeled Bogdan. "I don't want to die by your hands, you feckless beasts!" "Then perhaps you should stop using such spiteful words, little man" Uldas was only half joking when he said this, his dark sense of humour had overwhelmed his general seriousness in a moment of weakness. "Brute! Brute! Guar-" As quick as a flash a blade was facing him. Thassus was said to have chuckled about this occasion afterwards, as he stated that Bogdan's eyes bulged out almost to the point of popping when the Deanor slid his dagger from its sheath. Richie and Thassus were hauling a chest filled to the brim with rings out into the woods. Their hurried side-steps were complimented by the mutterings (or rather chanting) of the chest haulers. "One, two... Peotorus, we're coming for you. Three four... knock down the castle door. Five, six... Poke his eyes out with sticks" and so on. "So long, Bogdan" said Uldas in a very blithe manner. He turned away to exit the caravan, but he was kicked in the behind and fell face first to the wooden floor. There was a yell of "GUARDS!" and everyone sprung into action. Yorick took off into the woods, chasing after Richie and Thassus with as much speed as his frail old bones would allow him. Uldas quickly became more austere than he had been previously, his bitterness conveyed in a wild attempt to smack Bogdan in the face when struggling to rise to his feet. Silence. All of a sudden, it was as if there were no sound other than that morbid gurgling. Uldas felt something warm and wet on his ice cold skin. The sudden realisation that he'd done it again was making him shake. Another abundance of thought had altered plans. The screeching white noise in his head was getting louder and louder as his fuzzy vision started to come into focus. He could hear the sound of ironclad warriors running. towards the caravan. He practically fell through the tarp covering the door, his hand still clamped shut around the leather grip of his bloodied dagger. There was shouting. The grizzled Deanor rose to his feet, hunched over and gathering his bearings. The bleary haze had gone, and instinct told him what to do. He crawled under the carriage, laying in wait.